


How About Forever

by Jillian_Bowes



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Asexual Character, Breaking Up & Making Up, Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, Chill XV, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, M/M, Relationship Discussions, before the road trip but probably pretty late brotherhood era, gladio is dumb for like 2 secs but it's FINE, it's noct's turn to be protective, or whatever you want lol, promptis (mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 06:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12699042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jillian_Bowes/pseuds/Jillian_Bowes
Summary: Ignis lets it slip to Gladio that he might never want to take the next step in their relationship.





	How About Forever

**Author's Note:**

> what's this? i've made another one of my favorite characters asexual for no reason? when will the madness end? probably never. i need more representation, damn it! i don't h/c Ignis as ace but i like to throw around the idea.
> 
> first posted FFXV fic, hopefully more to come :)

 “Uh, you okay there, Specs?”

Ignis snapped to attention at the question and he pasted on a smile.  “Of course, Noct.  Why do you ask?”

“No real reason,” Noctis said with a shrug.  “Just that you’ve been peeling that potato for a solid minute.”

Ignis’s fake smile fell when he looked down at the potato in his hand, if it could even be considered a potato anymore.  “My apologies,” he sighed.  “I suppose my mind is… otherwise occupied at the moment.”

Noct smirked.  “Yeah, I figured.  You’ve been weird the past couple of days.  What’s up?”

“Nothing you need concern yourself with,” Ignis said, picking up another Leiden potato to peel.  “Personal matters, that’s all.”

Noct sat down at the bar across from Ignis and looked at him with worry.  “Hey man, I know you’re my advisor and everything, but…” He paused, pursed his lips.  “I dunno.  I like to think of you as my friend first.”

Ignis could feel the corners of his mouth pulling downwards as guilt roiled in his belly.  He set the peeler down and leaned against the counter.  “You’re right Noct,” he said, getting a small smile out of his charge.  “I suppose it might do to talk about it with someone.” 

“Cool,” Noct said, straightening up.  “Story time.”

Ignis rolled his eyes.  “Be warned, I’m certain this will make you uncomfortable.”

“Oh man, so this has something to do with Gladio?” Noct groaned.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Pfft. What’s more uncomfortable than my shield and advisor doing it?” Noct joked, but it only served as a reminder of Ignis’s misery.  Noct must have noticed the change in the atmosphere, because he cleared his throat and said, “Sorry.  Um.  So what _is_ the problem?  Is it actually Gladio?”

Ignis closed his eyes and nodded, letting out a long exhale through his nose.  “I’m afraid so.”

Noct crossed his arms atop the counter.  “Out with it already.  What happened?”

Ignis frowned and counted to five in his head before opening his eyes again.  “I think we broke up.”

_“What!?”_

∞

They were at Ignis’s apartment for a change.  Iris and Clarus would be home all day, so there would be no hope for privacy at Gladio’s house.  Ignis had cooked a meal for the two of them, and they settled on the couch in the little living room to watch a movie.  Gladio picked it—some comedy-slash-drama flick—but Ignis wasn’t really paying attention.  He was more focused on the feel of Gladio’s big arms wrapped around him, the dull scent of his cologne, the way Ignis’s head fits perfectly in the crook of Gladio’s neck.

Gladio pressed a kiss to the crown of Ignis’s head, and Ignis felt his face heat up at the gesture.  Even after months of dating, he never grew tired of those little shows of affection.  Gladio dropped his hand to Ignis’s hip, brushing it with his thumb.  That alone was soothing enough to make Ignis close his eyes and lean further into Gladio’s shoulder.  If only they could stay like this forever and never move…

Alas, Gladio had other plans.  He had started to nuzzle Ignis’s hair, a telltale sign that Gladio wanted to kiss him.  Kissing wasn’t necessarily Ignis’s favorite activity, but Gladio seemed to enjoy it immensely.  His hands would roam wherever Ignis would let them, and _gods,_ the _sounds_ he would make.

So, no, Ignis didn’t get much out of kissing, but he wouldn’t mind hearing those sounds some more.  Those were nice.  Ignis lifted his head and met Gladio halfway, catching his lips with his own.  It wasn’t long before Gladio was licking into Ignis’s mouth, a sensation that Ignis still hadn’t gotten used to. 

They started slow, kissing deeply and—at least, on Gladio’s side—passionately.  Ignis did his best to match Gladio’s fervor, but it was hard to keep up in an activity he knew so little about.  Embarrassingly enough, he’d done a fair amount of reading on the subject, but all he could glean from it was that kissing revolved quite a bit around instinct.

An instinct Ignis clearly didn’t have. 

Caught up in his thoughts, he almost didn’t notice when Gladio shifted their positions so that they were lying down, Ignis underneath him.  It wasn’t the first time they’d kissed like this; truth be told, Ignis really didn’t mind Gladio’s weight atop him.  He cherished their moments of closeness regardless of what they were doing.  Though he couldn’t deny that it could get a little overwhelming after a while. 

Gladio’s lips left Ignis’s and trailed from his jaw down to his throat.  It was a tickling sensation, but he didn’t feel much other than that.  His hands traveled down Ignis’s sides, then up underneath his shirt.  The warmth of Gladio’s big hands on his skin made him shiver, which Gladio must have taken as encouragement.  He began to nip and suck just under Ignis’s ear, one hand drifting lower and lower until it stopped just at Ignis’s belt. 

Ignis froze, and Gladio stopped his ministrations to meet Ignis’s eyes.  “Okay?” Gladio whispered.

Ignis closed his eyes and shook his head minutely.  He reached down and gently moved Gladio’s hand from his belt, sitting up slowly.  Gladio moved to sit properly next to him, looking slightly disappointed but smiling faintly nonetheless.  “I can’t,” Ignis admitted.

“It’s fine,” Gladio soothed, taking Ignis’s hand and holding it in his lap.  “We can wait.” 

Ignis sighed.  They’d had this conversation before.  Their kissing would become just a little too heated, Ignis would stop them there, and the two of them would agree to save the rest for later.  Ignis’s main concern now was how many more times this would happen before Gladio decided he wouldn’t wait for “later” any longer. 

“Hey,” Gladio crooned, touching his finger under Ignis’s chin.  Ignis met his eyes reluctantly, frowning.  “I know what you’re thinking.”

“You… do?”

“Yeah.” Gladio lifted his hand and stroked Ignis’s cheek with his thumb.  “I’ll wait for you, Iggy.  Promise.  However long it takes.”

_How about forever…_

“What?” Gladio’s face was contorted into one of confusion.

Oh, bloody hell, he’d said that out loud.  “Nothing,” Ignis quickly backtracked, but Gladio wouldn’t hear it.

“You don’t ever want to…?” He trailed off, eyes rapidly scanning Ignis’s face, as though he were searching for something. 

Ignis hung his head and shrugged.  “Maybe,” he whispered, and Gladio pulled back a bit, leaving several inches of space between them on the couch.

“Well, why not?” he asked, sounding like he was doing his best not to be offended.  “You’re not attracted to me or something?”

“I—That’s not what this is about—”

“If you don’t want to be with me—” Heavens, this was going downhill fast.

“Of course I do!” Ignis protested.  “Gladio, I love y—being with you.” His voice nearly cracked when he corrected himself; the last thing he needed was to go confessing his love right now.

“Then why…?” Gladio’s brows were sewn together, and Ignis could practically see the gears turning in his head as he desperately tried to understand. 

“Gods, I wish I knew,” Ignis admitted in a breath. 

It was Gladio’s turn to sigh.  “So, you want to be with me, but you don’t want to have sex?”  Ignis swallowed and nodded carefully.  “And… if I was someone else?”

“It isn’t only you, Gladio.  It isn’t something I want from anybody.”

“Then what makes me different from a friend, like Noct?”

 _I’m not in love with him, for one thing._ “The same things that make you want to be with me, I should hope,” Ignis said indignantly. 

“Okay,” Gladio said after a moment’s pause.

“’Okay’? ‘Okay,’ what?”

Gladio stared down at his own hands in his lap.  “I… think I get you.”

“All right…” _And?_ Ignis wondered.

“I don’t know if I can—” Gladio’s voice wavered and he cut himself off. 

When he didn’t continue, Ignis shakily said, “I understand if you want to leave.”  But gods, he didn’t want him to.

Gladio rose to his feet and Ignis’s eyes began to sting.  “I need—I need to think,” he said weakly.  He turned and walked through the living room and out the door, and Ignis did not stop him.

∞

     “…and we haven’t spoken since then.”  Ignis bit his lip and awaited Noct’s reaction.  Noct’s expression was blank; he blinked at Ignis, then blinked again.

Ignis was debating snapping his fingers in front of his face when Noct suddenly said, “He’s fired.”

Ignis actually huffed a laugh.  “What?”

“He’s so fired!” Noct proclaimed.  “I can fire him, right?  I mean— _gods,_ Specs!”

“Noct, calm down,” Ignis said, putting his hands up in a placating gesture.  “First off, seeing as he was _born_ to be your Shield, you can’t fire him.”  Noct rolled his eyes, but Ignis continued.  “Second, I think you’re overreacting.”

“I think you’re underreacting,” Noct grumbled, crossing his arms.  Easy for Noct to say; he hadn’t seen the tears Ignis had shed these past two nights, but he didn’t need to know about all that.  Ignis fixed him with a Look, and Noct relented.  “Fine, I won’t fire him or kill him or whatever.”

 _“Kill_ him?”

“I said I _won’t_ kill him!”  Slouching in his chair, he quietly added, “He deserves it, though.”

“No he doesn’t, Noct.  To ask him to be with me would be asking him to give up something that is simply too important.  I don’t expect him to come back, and that’s—” Ignis’s voice faltered, and stopped to clear his throat.  “That’s okay.” 

Noct sighed through his nose and shrugged.  “I… guess I see your point.  But I still don’t like it.”

Ignis smiled a little.  “I don’t either, to tell you the truth.  But we don’t have to.  After all, what would you do if Prompto came to you with the same confession?”

Noct blushed furiously.  “Whoa, hey, he’s not—we’re not--!” he stammered, but his protests died when faced with Ignis’s knowing smirk.  Noct shrank in on himself and muttered, “Okay, yeah.  I would probably have to think pretty hard about it,” he admitted, then pursed his lips.  “I’m sorry, Ignis.”

“Quite all right, Highness,” Ignis said, making to stand.  “Let’s get dinner finished, shall w—” A knock on the door interrupted him.  “Were you expecting someone?”

Noct shook his head, and there was another knock.  Expecting Prompto to be on the other side, Ignis opened the door without bothering to check the peephole. 

It was Gladio.

_Oh._

There was a tense moment of silence between the two as they stared at each other, though Gladio didn’t appear as surprised as Ignis felt.  “Iggy,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.  “I uh… I figured you might be here.”

“Gladio,” Ignis greeted when he found his voice.  “You’re not here for Noct?”

Gladio shook his head.  “You weren’t at your place, so…” He trailed off.  “Can I come in?”

Ignis stepped back and made room for Gladio to enter by way of answering.  He heard Noct greet Gladio tersely as he made his way inside.

“Beat it, kid,” Gladio retorted.  “Iggy and I gotta talk.”

“This is _my_ apartment!”

Ignis came up behind Gladio and looked at his charge.  “Noct, would you please step into your room for a few moments?”  Noct was looking rather puffed up, so Ignis fixed him with a pleading look.

“Ugh, fine,” Noct conceded, walking past them with an exasperated groan. 

The room fell awkwardly silent, aside from the sound of Gladio’s shuffling feet. 

“Shall we sit?” Ignis asked, gesturing toward the couch.  Gladio grunted and they sat together, a full cushion’s worth of space between them.  “What is this about?”

Gladio chuckled weakly, but there was no mirth in it.  “You know why.”  Ignis didn’t change his expression.  If Gladio wasn’t going to talk, then neither was he.  “The other night,” he clarified.  “What we talked about.  _Us.”_

Ignis knew what was coming next.  All he could do was keep a stiff upper lip while Gladio put an official end to their relationship.  “Out with it, then.”  He was almost proud of himself for not allowing his voice to betray the anxiety he was feeling.

“Iggy, I…” Gladio’s voice trembled, thick with emotion.  “I’m sorry.”  Ignis inwardly cringed at the words, bracing himself for the heartbreak that was about to come.  “I shouldn’t have left you that night.”

…What?

Ignorant of Ignis’s confusion, Gladio continued.  “I know it hasn’t been all that long, but… shit, I miss you.”

Ignis could understand that.  The two of them had been together happily for months, only to have one conversation come between them and threaten to wrench them apart.  “I miss you too,” he confessed.  “And I’m sorry I can’t be with you.”

“What?” Gladio did nothing to hide the hurt on his face.  He carefully moved closer, and Ignis allowed him to take his hand.  “Of course you can.”

Ignis frowned at him.  “No, I can’t.  You deserve to be with someone who can give you what you want.”

Gladio held onto Ignis’s hand tightly with both of his.  “Iggy, _you’re_ what I want.” Ignis stared back at him with wide eyes, unable to respond.  “I’ve thought about it, and… I can live without sex, but-- I _can’t_ live without you.”

Ignis felt the beginnings of tears prick at his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away.  It was too good to be true.  “You… You don’t mean that,” he deflected.  Gladio opened his mouth to disagree, but Ignis held up a finger.  “You should be with someone who can make you happy.”

“And you don’t think that’s you?” Gladio argued, and Ignis cast his gaze down to his knees.  “There’s no one else who can—” He stops, seems to consider something, and holds Ignis’s hand tighter.  “Iggy, I love you.”  In that moment, Ignis couldn’t have said something if he tried, but fortunately Gladio kept going.  “I never said it before, but I should’ve.  You don’t have to say it back or anything.  I just—I needed you to hear it.”

Ignis was quiet for what felt like a long time.  He searched Gladio’s eyes for any sign of deception.  When he found none, he tentatively said, “You’re sure?”

“Never been more sure of anything,” Gladio said, a smile slowly spreading across his face. 

Ignis gently pulled his hands from Gladio’s grasp, and he almost smiled at the panic that flashed across Gladio’s face.  It melted away when Ignis reached up to cradle his scratchy cheeks, bringing him in for a sweet kiss.  Gladio scarcely had time to kiss back before Ignis was pulling away.  “I love you, too.”

Positively beaming, Gladio laughed and threw his arms around Ignis, kissing him hard.  It wasn’t comfortable; their noses bumped, and Ignis wouldn’t be surprised if he came away with a bruise, but feeling Gladio’s deep laughter against him gave him butterflies like nothing else. Before it went much further, they were cut off by gagging noises from the other end of the room. 

“Ugh, my eyes,” Noct complained.  “Not on my couch, I’m begging you.”

Ignis cleared his throat uncomfortably and straightened.  “Apologies, Noct.  Gladio and I were just about to head back to my apartment, anyway.”  Ignis didn’t even have to look to see Gladio’s smile.  He stood up and offered Gladio a hand, which he took graciously. 

“What?” Noct groaned.  “What about dinner?”

“Order a pizza,” Gladio suggested, already tugging Ignis toward the door. 

Noct rolled his eyes.  “Fine, but you’re buying,” he huffed at Ignis.

“Fair enough,” Ignis conceded.  I’ll see you tomorrow, all right?”

Noct nodded curtly, and Ignis and Gladio were almost out the door before Noct stopped them.  “Ignis, hang back a sec?”   They stopped, and Ignis offered to meet Gladio in the hall.  Not even trying to hide his concern, Noct asked, “You good?”

“Yes, quite.”  Ignis couldn’t keep the grin off his face.  “We worked things out.”

Noct snorted.  “Yeah, I saw.  And now I have to burn my couch.”

“Come now, I’m sure you’ve done far worse to that poor thing.”

“Okay, get out.”

Ignis chuckled, but he quickly sobered and put a hand on Noct’s shoulder.  “Thank you.”

Noct furrowed his brow and tilted his head.  _Like a puppy,_ Ignis couldn’t help but think.  “For what?”

“For listening.”

Noct flushed pink and shrugged.  “Yeah, yeah.  Just go before I regret it.”

 Ignis turned on his heel and met up with Gladio, who latched onto Ignis’s hand in an instant.  “Eager, are we?” Ignis remarked. 

“Gotta make up for lost time,” Gladio said sincerely, leaning in close, but Ignis pulled back and smirked.

“Oh, there’s making up to do all right.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to the cool cats at Chill XV for being my accountabilibuddies lmao please leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed, and let me know how i did. i don't write (or do) much kissing so i hope it wasn't too rusty XD


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